w— ■» 


MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE 
BULLETIN 

Vol.  XIV  OCTOBER,  1919  No.  2 


Student  Difficulties 

An  Address  at  the  Opening  of  the  120th 
Year  of  Middle  bury  College 
September  18,  1919 

BY  PRESIDENT  JOHN  M.  THOMAS 


Published  by  Middlebury  College,  September,  October, 
November,  December,  January,  February,  April,  and 
July,  and  entered  as  second  class  matter  at  the  post- 
office,  Middlebury,  Vt.,  under  act  of  Congress,  July  16, 


SUPPLEMENT  TO 


Middlebury  College  Bulletin 


Vol.  XIV.  OCTOBER. 

, 1919 

No.  2 

ATTENDANCE  OCTOBER 

1,  1919 

Men 

Women 

Total 

Graduate  Students, 

1 

1 

2 

Seniors, 

43 

29 

72 

Juniors, 

30 

28 

58 

Sophomores,  - 

45 

48 

93 

Freshmen, 

76 

81 

157 

Total  Enrollment, 

194 

186 

380 

GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION 

Undergraduates  Only 

Men 

Women 

Total 

Vermont, 

95 

87 

182 

Massachusetts, 

26 

4 6 

72 

New  York, 

22 

20 

42 

Connecticut, 

18 

15 

S3 

New  Jersey, 

15 

3 

18 

New  Hampshire, 

2 

9 

11 

Maine, 

5 

0 

5 

Ohio,  - 

3 

0 

3 

Wisconsin, 

3 

0 

3 

Rhode  Island, 

1 

1 

2 

California, 

1 

0 

1 

Delaware, 

0 

1 

1 

Kentucky, 

0 

1 

1 

Alaska, 

0 

1 

1 

Canada, 

2 

0 

2 

France, 

1 

0 

1 

West  Indies, 

0 

2 

2 

194 

186 

380 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/studentdifficultOOthom 


/ / D tAi  • 3 6 • 


c 

/V\S8^d  b 


STUDENT  DIFFICULTIES 


At  this  opening  of  the  120th  year  of  Middlebury  College 
I would  like  to  say  a word  which  might  prove  practically 
helpful  in  giving  us  a start  toward  the  best  year  this  institu- 
tion in  the  Vermont  green  hills  has  ever  known.  We  have  a 
right  to  that  ambition  and  there  are  some  features  in  our  situ- 
ation which  justify  the  hope  and  expectation  that  we  may 
attain  it.  The  war  is  over  and  we  can  give  our  minds  un- 
reservedly to  the  business  in  hand.  We  have  notably  increas- 
ed our  resources  and  are  in  much  stronger  financial  position 
than  we  were  a few  years  ago.  We  have  a larger  Faculty 
and  I think  a better  one.  We  have  not  only  enriched  our 
course  of  study,  but  have  improved  it  by  the  removal  of  arbi- 
trary requirements  which  were  unsuited  to  the  needs  of  many 
students,  and  by  the  arrangement  of  studies  in  such  manner  as 
to  open  the  mind  early  in  the  course  to  new  departments  of 
knowledge  of  greatest  interest  and  importance.  We  have 
maintained  our  membership  in  the  New  England  College 
Entrance  Certificate  Board  and  have  enforced  entrance  re- 
quirements more  strictly  than  ever  before.  We  have  come 
through  a period  of  expansion,  which  has  been  unavoidably 
also  a period  of  experiment,  and  we  feel  that  we  are  in  posi- 
tion to  do  our  work  in  a larger  and  better  way  and  with  better 
results  to  all  concerned.  There  is  good  ground  for  hope  for 
the  ambition  that  we  may  enjoy  in  all  respects  the  best  year 
our  college  has  ever  known. 


[1] 


Good  Intentions  1 know  from «P'ri“ce  1 c“ 

assume  a good  purpose  and  an  earn- 
est resolution  to  make  the  most  out  of  the  college  year,  on  the 
part  of  every  student  attending  this  opening.  No  one  has 
come  here  intending  to  fail,  or  even  to  do  half  well.  Condi- 
tions and  make-up  examinations,  painful  sessions  with  the 
Administration  Committee  at  which  one’s  future  college  car- 
eer hangs  by  a thread,  form  no  part  of  the  anticipations  of 
this  gloriously  pleasant  and  hopeful  morning.  I could  carry 
you  all  with  me  in  the  presentation  of  high  ideals  and  worthy 
standards  and  every  one  of  you  would  assent  to  any  pledge 
of  earnest  effort  which  I might  recommend.  There  is  never 
any  trouble  as  to  lack  of  good  intentions  and  earnestly  affirm- 
ed high  resolutions  at  the  outset  of  the  year.  But  at  mid- 
semester the  bill  for  postage  at  the  Registrar’s  office  is  in- 
creased by  a multitude  of  solemn  warnings  and  at  the  close 
of  each  examination  period  those  eloquent  notices  issue  in  sad 
and  grievous  number.  Every  one  of  them  is  addressed  to  a 
student  who  had  the  best  intentions  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year. 


Student  Fatalities  kook  a*  'he, figures  of  ^ ckss- 

Going  back  to  norpial  conditions 

before  the  war,  the  class  of  1915  recorded  139  candidates  for 
degrees,  of  which  number  only  72  heard  the  “Pro  auctoritate 
mihi  commissa”  on  the  graduation  stage.  The  figures  are 
typical  and  might  be  paralleled  from  the  records  of  any  col- 
lege. It  used  to  be  years  ago  that  nine-tenths  of  the  students 
entering  received  their  diplomas.  Read  the  alumni  cata- 
logue of  any  college  today  and  you  will  find  one-third  of  the 
names  of  recent  classes — not  including  war  classes — enrolled 
as  non-graduates.  It  is  one  of  the  great  failures  of  the 
modem  American  college  not  to  hold  its  students.  What  is 
the  trouble? 


[2] 


There  are  probably  several  contributing  causes.  Busi- 
ness opportunities  are  more  inviting  today  than  formerly  to 
young  people  who  have  had  only  a partial  course.  Medical 
and  other  technical  schools  suggest  to  students  two  or  three 
years  of  college,  while  only  mildly  recommending  the  attain- 
ment of  a degree.  Owing  to  the  advance  of  standards,  stu- 
dents are  generally  older  when  they  enter  and  the  completion 
of  the  course  demands  larger  effort  and  sacrifice.  Then  years 
ago  college  halls  were  sought  by  much  smaller  numbers  and 
almost  exclusively  by  those  who  looked  to  some  profession  for 
which  a baccalaureate  degree  was  not  merely  advisable  but 
indispensable. 


The  Chief  Cause 


But  I believe  the  chief  and  principal 
reason  for  the  increased  fatality  in 


college  is  the  greatly  increased  complexity  of  college  life  and 
the  large  number  of  subsidiary  interests  which  claim  and 
receive  so  large  a proportion  of  the  student’s  time.  Take  up 
the  Kaleidoscope,  the  excellent  college  annual  published  last 
year  by  the  classes  of  ’19  and  ’20.  Page  after  page  of  socie- 
ties and  clubs  and  records  of  organizations,  each  with  its 
officers,  committees,  and  statement  of  activities.  In  the 
sketches  of  students  note  the  number  of  offices  and  assign- 
ments after  each  name.  Of  course  I know  that  many  of 
these  things  are  merely  nominal  and  demand  little  time  or 
interest.  But  others  are  not  nominal  and  require  a great 
deal  of  both  interest  and  time.  I can  imagine  a thoughtful 
stranger  turning  over  the  pages  of  that  Kaleidoscope  and  say- 
ing— How  in  the  name  of  the  twenty-four  hours  which  make 
up  a day  do  those  young  men  and  women  find  time  to  study? 
Probably  a truthful  answer  would  be  that  a good  many  of 
them  don’t. 

In  all  seriousness  this  is  the  most  difficult  problem  in 
Middlebury  College  today  in  the  matter  of  student  life.  We 


[3] 


are  a small  college  and  we  are  supporting  nearly  as  many 
student  enterprises  as  a large  university.  It  is  costing  us  the 
college  life  of  many  students  who  get  entangled  in  these  things 
and  who  fall  behind  in  their  studies  until  they  get  discouraged 
and  leave.  Just  as  serious,  involvement  in  these  outside  in- 
terests is  costing  many  able  students,  who  manage  to  keep  up 
and  maintain  fair  averages,  the  privilege  of  that  devotion 
and  concentration  in  intellectual  pursuits  which  leads  to  the 
scholar’s  joy  and  the  scholar’s  power.  Still  further  in  the 
indictment,  slack  and  slovenly  work  on  the  part  of  students 
who  are  giving  only  a modicum  of  their  energy  to  the  real 
business  of  college  is  a constant  drag  on  the  spirit  of  am- 
bitious instructors  who  would  delight  in  leading  classes  to  the 
higher  reaches  of  knowledge  if  they  could  only  win  the  need- 
ful co-operation. 

Legitimate  Interests  How  can  we  cure  the  evil?  Certainly 

— — not  by  railing  at  everything  outside 

the  curriculum  as  out  of  place  and  harmful.  A college  is 
something  more  than  chapel  and  recitations  and  students 
learn  much  from  their  association  together  and  from  the  en- 
terprises under  their  own  management.  We  want  athletics 
and  general  college  support  of  them.  The  physical  benefit 
of  athletic  sports  is  not  confined  to  the  participants,  as  is 
sometimes  charged.  The  games  lend  a stimulus  to  physical 
training  and  yield  an  influence  toward  robustness  of  body 
which  we  all  feel.  This  whole  nation  is  the  sounder  in  health 
because  of  the  general  love  of  out-door  sports.  It  can  also 
be  urged  that  nothing  stirs  the  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  col- 
lege, or  does  more  to  create  the  sense  of  unity,  than  contests 
of  skill  at  which  the  whole  college  is  in  the  fight.  Much 
more  might  be  said,  but  athletics  are  too  firmly  entrenched  in 
the  life  of  all  colleges  to  make  argument  for  their  retention 
necessary. 


[4] 


We  wish  also  to  retain  our  musical  organizations  and  to 
make  more  of  them.  Personally  I think  I could  tolerate  ex- 
istence in  Middlebury  without  the  Jazz  band,  but  we  must 
make  allowances  for  the  taste  of  individuals.  The  college 
has  done  a good  deal  recently  to  stimulate  interest  in  music 
and  is  proposing  this  year  to  do  more.  I wish  we  might  be- 
come known  as  a singing  college.  I wish  visitors  might  go 
from  Middlebury  to  say — You  ought  to  hear  those  students 
sing,  in  chapel,  at  their  games,  on  the  campus,  women  and 
men;  they  are  always  singing,  and  they  seem  to  know  what 
good  music  is,  and  to  like  it.  That  is  one  of  the  things  we 
might  do  which  cannot  be  done  in  a large  university,  whose 
students  rarely  meet.  We  ought  to  have  the  best  chorus  choir 
in  New  England  in  the  Mead  Memorial  Chapel.  There  is 
no  reason  why  we  should  not.  We  have  both  men  and  wom- 
en, singing  together  every  day,  in  this  chapel  so  marvellously 
adapted  to  choral  music.  I trust  that  now  we  have  Mr. 
Bissell  in  vocal  music  to  assist  Professor  Hathaway  in  the 
music  of  the  college,  we  may  have  a revival  of  musical  inter- 
est which  will  lead  to  permanent  results. 

My  remarks  a moment  ago  should  not  be  interpreted  as 
unfriendly  to  the  college  band.  It  is  very  helpful  to  have  a 
good  band  for  public  occasions  and  it  is  pleasant  recreation 
for  its  members.  The  college  will  be  glad  to  provide  an  in- 
structor if  a sufficient  number  of  students  manifest  an  interest 
to  justify  the  expense. 

Where  any  considerable  number  of  people  are  brought 
together  for  any  time,  they  will  unvariably  be  found  to  organ- 
ize themselves  in  separate  groups  or  societies.  It  is  so  in 
cities  and  villages  and  proper  that  it  should  be  so  in  college. 
Man  is  an  organizing  animal,  especially  at  college  age.  Per- 
haps we  have  too  many  such  organizations  of  too  many  kinds, 


[5] 


but  my  present  point  is  that  we  are  bound  to  have  some  and 
that,  while  they  are  liable  to  abuses,  they  are  on  the  whole 
useful. 

Similarly  we  want  and  ought  to  have  a college  paper 
and  it  ought  to  be  sustained  at  the  cost  of  quite  a little  time 
on  the  part  of  some  students.  We  need  and  should  support 
religious  organizations,  of  both  men  and  women,  and  should 
make  more  of  them.  We  ought  to  develop  our  Outing  Club 
and  pay  more  attention  to  our  magnificent  inheritance  in  the 
Battell  forests. 


The  Problem  * ^ave  not  exhausted  the  list  of  legit- 

— — imate  and  wholesome  interests  and 

activities  outside  the  curriculum,  but  I have  listed  enough  to 
make  clear  that  every  Middlebury  student  has  a problem  on 
his  hands.  I am  convinced  the  time  has  come  for  some 
institutional  effort  to  help  students  toward  its  solution.  The 
adoption  of  the  “point  system”,  which  I heartily  commend,  is 
a long  step  forward.  But  no  system  will  work  itself  and  in 
a matter  like  this  especially  is  it  true  that  eternal  vigilance 
is  the  price  of  liberty.  Practices  grow  up,  innocent  at  their 
beginning  but  encroaching  more  and  more  on  student  time 
until  they  become  a serious  evil.  I have  known  good  students 
to  come  to  Middlebury,  make  an  excellent  start  for  a week  or 
two,  and  then  get  so  far  behind  during  a fraternity  rushing 
and  initiation  period  that  they  did  not  recover  for  months. 
It  is  often  such  a trifle  as  that  which  makes  the  difference 
between  success  and  failure.  Fraternities  exist  for  the  good 
of  the  college.  They  can  prosper  only  as  the  college  pros- 
pers. They  can  have  strong  men  only  as  they  co-operate 
with  the  college  in  building  strong  men.  They  may  be  power- 
ful influences  for  good,  and  in  all  friendliness  but  with  great 
earnestness  I urge  every  such  organization  to  examine  its 


[6] 


ways  and  make  such  changes  as  may  be  necessary,  however 
radical  they  may  be,  in  order  to  help  and  not  hinder  the  col- 
lege in  the  attainment  of  high  academic  ideals. 


Study  First 


There  ought  to  be  but  one  engrossing 
interest  of  a college  student,  and  that 


should  be  study.  All  other  activities  should  be  recreative 
only,  and  the  moment  they  pass  beyond  wholesome  and  help- 
ful recreation  they  become  harmful.  I wish  to  refer  this 
entire  subject  of  student  activities  of  all  sorts  to  the  Deans 
of  the  College  with  the  Student  Life  Committee  and  to  request 
the  hearty  co-operation  of  all  students  with  them.  Let  us 
look  over  our  list  of  enterprises  soliciting  student  time  and 
abolish  any  which  are  not  helpful.  Let  us  apportion  the 
time  more  carefully  between  the  various  interests.  Anyone 
who  has  attended  to  the  notices  in  the  daily  chapel  must  have 
observed  that  often  students  are  invited  and  summoned  to 
too  many  things  at  once.  I would  like  to  see  a regular  weekly 
calendar  published  by  the  college,  monthly  or  even  weekly, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Committee  on  Student  Life,  list- 
ing all  meetings  and  appointments,  and  thus  giving  an  oppor- 
tunity to  the  Committee  to  rule  out  or  postpone  any  call  for 
a student’s  time  which  is  not  legitimate  and  in  proportion  to 
other  duties. 

But  in  the  end  it  will  come  down  to  individual  good 
sense  and  firmness  of  will.  The  field  of  knowledge  which 
ought  to  be  covered  in  a four  years’  course  is  altogether  too 
wide  to  make  very  great  diversion  from  the  main  purpose 
advisable.  If  you  want  to  look  back  upon  college  with  satis- 
faction and  without  regret,  give  your  main  thought  to  the 
official  program.  Ask  the  older  graduates  and  note  what 
they  will  tell  you. 


[7] 


Choice  of  Studies 


So  much  for  extra-curriculum  activi- 
ties and  the  failures  due  to  outside 


interests.  I wish  now  to  pass  to  matters  connected  with  the 
choice  of  studies  and  the  main  occupation  of  the  student.  I 
am  convinced  that  a large  number  of  students  fail  to  get  the 
most  out  of  college  or  to  do  their  best  in  college  because  of 
unwise  choice  of  studies,  and  that  notwithstanding  all  our 
care  in  grouping  and  arranging  departments  and  courses  and 
the  services  of  Faculty  advisers  in  the  selections  of  each 
semester.  An  instructor  can  only  advise:  he  is  not  supposed 
to  compel.  The  liberty  necessary  to  meet  the  real  needs  of 
various  classes  of  students  allows  a great  many  mistakes. 
Moreover  an  adviser  can  counsel  only  on  the  basis  of  what 
the  student  tells,  and  often  the  student  presents  his  own  needs 
and  interests  very  inadequately. 

One  of  the  most  common  errors  is  undue  concentration 
on  the  subject  of  one’s  major  interest  too  early  in  the  course. 
Unfortunately  this  is  a mistake  which  a student  of  real  ambi- 
tion and  with  a definite  purpose  in  mind  is  very  apt  to  make. 
Let  us  suppose  a frequent  case,  a student  particularly  inter- 
ested in  Chemistry.  He  finds  the  courses  in  that  science 
progressively  arranged  and  is  not  likely  to  make  serious  mis- 
take in  his  Chemistry  elections.  The  curriculum  will  not 
let  him.  But  as  he  advances  he  learns  that  Chemistry  is 
intimately  related  to  other  sciences,  that  he  needs  to  study 
also  Physics,  Biology,  and  Mathematics.  He  discovers  that 
he  must  consult  chemical  books  and  journals  written  in  Ger- 
man and  in  French,  that  it  is  impossible  to  be  a chemist  of 
the  first  order  without  a reading  knowledge  of  those  lan- 
guages. He  finds  that  a chemist  must  also  be  a business  man 
and  that  he  will  be  handicapped  without  a knowledge  of  the 
laws  of  trade  and  finance  as  presented  in  Economics.  He 
hears  discussions  of  his  fellow  students  on  matters  of  law  and 


[8] 


government,  on  questions  of  philosophy  and  religion,  and 
realizes  that  his  education  is  incomplete  unless  he  has  had  at 
least  fundamental  courses  in  these  departments.  The  sad 
part  of  it  is  that  he  may  come  to  an  appreciation  of  these  needs 
too  late.  If  he  has  not  begun  Biology  as  a Freshman  or 
Sophomore,  he  cannot  begin  it  at  all.  There  is  no  time  as  a 
Junior  or  Senior  to  acquire  the  necessary  proficiency  in  the 
modern  languages.  The  student  has  lost  his  opportunity  in 
some  of  the  things  he  really  needs  because  he  was  thinking 
too  exclusively  of  his  specialty  and  did  not  realize  his  broad- 
er needs  in  time. 

Our  program  of  studies  is  arranged  on  the  principle  of 
giving  every  student  at  least  two  years  in  which  to  begin  the 
work  of  each  department.  The  only  safe  counsel  is  to  go 
down  the  list  of  all  the  departments — there  are  twenty  of 
them — and  inquire,  Do  I need  any  courses  in  that  department 
as  part  of  my  college  work?  If  so,  when  am  I going  to  begin 
it?  Often  it  will  be  wise  to  postpone  a much  desired  subject 
in  order  to  take  the  fundamental  and  prerequisite  subjects 
in  departmeuts  one  cannot  afford  to  neglect. 

Beware  of  courses  which  are  not  prerequisite  to  any- 
thing, which  do  not  lead  anywhere.  Such  subjects  are  ad- 
visable only  when  one  can  see  the  end  of  his  course  and  that 
they  will  not  prevent  something  essential  to  his  progress. 

Theoretically  perhaps  all  courses  should  be  equal  in  dif- 
ficulty and  require  the  same  proportion  of  the  student’s  time. 
But  the  human  element  enters  in  with  both  instructor  and 
student.  It  is  natural  for  some  teachers  to  employ  a more 
strenuous  method  than  others  and  students  differ  greatly  in 
taste  and  capacity  for  different  subjects.  So  it  happens  that 
certain  courses  acquire  a reputation  of  difficulty  and  others 
come  to  be  known  as  easy.  The  student  who  selects  his  stu- 
dies on  the  principle  of  getting  through  as  easily  as  possible 


[9] 


loses  his  self-respect  and  creates  within  himself  a premoni- 
tion of  failure  which  time  is  almost  sure  to  justify.  Select 
your  courses  according  to  your  real  interests,  according  to 
your  honest  conviction  of  what  you  need  to  know  for  the  high- 
est development  of  your  manhood  unto  the  greatest  possible 
service  of  your  fellow-men  and  of  God.  It  is  easy  for  inter- 
est and  ambition  to  conquer  difficulty,  but  if  you  try  to  slip 
by  through  judicious  selection  of  “soft  snaps”,  you  will  find 
some  thirty  well-experienced  instructors  banded  together  in 
horrid  conspiracy  to  prevent  your  success. 


An  Eight-Hour  Day 


I plead  for  an  eight  hour  day  and  a 
forty-five  hour  week.  You  do  not 


need  to  strike  for  that:  your  teachers  will  be  greatly  pleased 
if  they  can  get  that  much.  Normally  a student  has  fifteen 
periods  a week  in  recitation  and  laboratory.  If  now  he  would 
devote  two  hours  beside  in  preparation,  reading,  and  study  in 
connection  with  each  period,  he  would  be  spending  45  out  of 
the  168  hours  in  a week  in  the  main  business  for  which  he 
comes  to  college.  It  is  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  total  time. 
Surely  that  ought  to  be  a minimum.  But  I am  convinced 
that  it  is  far  more  than  the  actual  average  hitherto.  If  we 
could  secure  that  standard,  three  hours  per  class,  we  would 
reduce  conditions  one-half  and  raise  appreciably  the  academ- 
ic standard  of  Middlebury  College.  I am  ashamed  to  make 
this  confession  and  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  that  I am  forced 
to  it.  A man  who  essays  to  fit  himself  for  leadership,  who 
looks  to  some  honorable  calling  in  which  he  will  use  his  mind, 
ought  to  scorn  to  allow  himself  less  than  the  laborer’s  hours 
of  work.  No  student  has  a right,  in  consideration  of  the 
sacrifices  of  money  and  time  necessary  for  his  education,  and 
in  consideration  also  of  the  high  privileges  secured  for  his 
benefit  at  great  cost  of  time  and  labor  for  many  generations, 


[10] 


to  spend  one  moment  in  amusement  and  sport,  however  in- 
nocent and  valuable  when  legitimately  pursued,  until  he  has 
first  devoted  at  least  one-fourth  of  his  time  to  the  main  busi- 
ness of  college  work.  Study  first,  then  recreation,  all  the 
pleasanter  for  that  it  has  been  earned.  Don’t  indulge  in  sport 
and  pleasure  and  study  what  time  you  can  catch  up  after- 
wards. That  is  the  “slacker”  attitude,  that  of  the  man  who 
flinches  in  the  face  of  duty,  and  it  is  almost  as  bad  to  be  a 
“slacker”  toward  one’s  college  as  it  is  toward  one’s  country. 

The  Scholar’s  Joy  'Ve°uShl  «11  to  get  clear  beyond  the 

- — — — — border-land  of  success  and  failure, 

beyond  all  question  of  just  getting  through  and  saving  all 
one’s  credits  by  not  receiving  more  than  one  D and  one’s 
scholarship  by  not  incurring  two  conditions, — beyond  all  this 
into  the  far  more  pleasant  state  where  fear  of  failure  does  not 
even  threaten,  and  a man  works  with  joy  and  exhiliration 
from  the  very  joy  of  learning  and  the  thrilling  sense  of  the 
growth  of  power.  When  I was  a student  in  Middlebury,  Pro- 
fessor Wright,  my  teacher  and  yours,  assigned  me  several 
topics  for  independent  investigation  and  directed  me  in  the 
use  of  library  material  and  the  production  of  a thesis  which 
should  be,  not  a compilation  from  text-books  and  encyclopae- 
dias, but  the  embodiment  of  my  own  criticism  and  research. 
I remember  working  for  months  on  a topic  assigned  me  by 
my  Professor  of  Latin,  Dr.  James  M.  Paton,  Cicero’s  Treat- 
ment of  Epicurus,  determining  as  best  I could  what  Epicurus 
really  taught  from  the  fragments  that  have  come  down  to  us 
and  from  the  presentation  of  his  philosophy  in  the  great  poem 
of  Lucretius,  and  comparing  these  results  with  the  portrayal 
of  Epicurus  in  the  philosophical  writings  of  Cicero.  I look 
back  upon  these  special  outside  studies,  for  which  I received 
no  credit,  as  the  most  valuable  part  of  my  college  course. 


[11] 


Professor  Wright  has  promised  to  be  with  us  through  the  en- 
tire year.  He  has  intimated  that  it  must  be  his  last  year, 
that  he  feels  that  he  has  earned  the  right  to  rest  after  thirty- 
five  years  of  service  to  this  college,  during  which  he  has  not 
only  instructed  a larger  number  of  pupils  than  any  man  who 
ever  taught  in  Middlebury,  but  has  also  borne  far  more  than 
his  share  of  administrative  labor.  Two  Presidents  have  leaned 
on  him  for  counsel,  and  neither  of  them  but  would  testify 
that  he  had  in  Professor  Wright  his  kindest  critic  and  his 
most  faithful  friend.  I trust  that  before  the  year  is  over 
many  of  you  will  have  opportunity  of  his  guidance  in  ad- 
vanced studies  which  you  pursue  independently  and  on  which 
you  do  not  expect  to  recite. 

Many  other  Professors  will  offer  the  same  privileges. 
Every  department  is  eager  to  find  students  who  wish  to  do 
special  work.  The  section  of  our  catalogue  on  special  hon- 
ors is  deserving  of  far  more  attention  than  it  receives.  Our 
library  is  not  a mere  collection  of  books : it  is  such  a collec- 
tion served  by  trained  librarians,  whose  services  in  guidance 
in  the  use  of  material  is  more  than  half  of  the  institution  of 
the  library.  A student  who  graduates  without  learning  how 
to  make  use  of  a library  as  an  instrument  in  investigation  is 
leaving  without  the  acquisition  of  one  of  the  most  important 
benefits  of  a college  course. 

One  advance  we  are  making  at  this 
time  deserves  especial  attention.  Foi 
several  years  past  the  Middlebury  College  Summer  Session  has 
been  acquiring  an  increasing  reputation  for  the  excellence  of 
its  work  in  modern  languages.  The  method  first  brought  to 
us  by  Dr.  Lilian  L.  Stroebe  of  Vassar  College  in  the  study  of 
German  has  been  extended  to  French  and  Spanish  under  the 
able  leadership  of  Professors  de  Visme  and  Lacalle.  That 


A Step  Forward 


[12] 


method  in  brief  has  been  to  secure  exclusive  attention  to  the 
study  of  the  one  language  and  to  organize  the  teachers  and 
students  into  a social  group,  living  together  in  a separate 
building  and  in  as  nearly  a foreign  atmosphere  as  possible, 
and  maintaining  the  constant  and  exclusive  use  of  the  foreign 
speech  in  social  life  as  well  as  in  the  classroom.  Our  success 
was  evident  the  past  summer  by  the  attendance  of  representa- 
tives from  twenty  States  and  three  foreign  countries,  including 
graduates  from  over  fifty  colleges  and  universities  and  many 
holders  of  advanced  degrees. 

It  has  been  at  least  unfortunate  that  there  has  been  slight 
connection  between  this  Summer  Session  effort  and  the  regu- 
lar work  of  the  standard  academic  year.  We  have  had  virtu- 
ally two  colleges,  having  little  in  common  except  that  they 
used  the  same  plant  at  different  times.  I am  glad  to  say  that 
we  are  now  in  position  to  remedy  this  situation  and  are  today 
making  a beginning  which  may  be  expected  in  good  time  to 
bring  our  modem  language  work  in  the  college  year  to  the 
same  enviable  position  our  Summer  Session  enjoys.  Profes- 
sor de  Visme  comes  to  us  as  head  of  the  Division  of  Modem 
Languages  and  Senorita  Rodriguez,  one  of  the  successful  in- 
structors at  the  recent  Spanish  School,  is  here  as  instmctor 
in  Spanish.  A year  hence  we  expect  Senor  Lacalle  to  trans- 
fer his  allegiance  from  the  U.  S.  Naval  Academy  to  Middle- 
bury  as  a permanent  instructor.  There  is  here  the  possibility 
of  the  development  of  a peculiar  excellence  in  Middlebury 
College  which  may  prove  of  great  importance. 


A New  Officer 


A college  is  a public  institution  and 
its  executive  is  called  upon  for  many 
duties  outsides  its  walls.  There  is  need  of  an  officer  of  the 
Faculty  to  give  special  attention  to  matters  of  curriculum  and 
educational  policy,  to  assist  in  internal  administration  on  the 


[13] 


academic  side  as  distinct  from  the  work  of  Deans  in  matters 
of  discipline  and  in  moral  and  social  leadership,  and  to  have 
a care  for  the  harmonious  organization  of  the  Faculty  for  the 
best  work  of  which  the  college  is  capable.  In  some  institu- 
tions such  an  officer  is  called  the  Provost.  Dr.  Collins  has 
grown  naturally  into  this  work,  especially  in  his  management 
of  the  Summer  Session  and  during  my  absence  last  year,  and 
I am  pleased  to  announce  that  the  trustees  have  recognized  his 
efficiency  by  giving  him  the  title  of  Provost  and  designating 
him  to  the  responsibilities  of  that  office. 

Professor  McGilton  There  is  one  other  name  1 must  pro' 

— » — — — ■ nounce  this  morning  and  I regret  that 

it  cannot  be  a word  of  welcome  back  to  his  official  duties. 
We  shall  miss  again  this  year  the  active  help  of  Professor 
McGilton,  for  twenty-seven  years  head  of  the  Department  of 
Chemistry.  A teacher  of  enthusiasm  and  of  power  to  in- 
spire, whose  ability  to  lead  others  to  his  own  passionate  love 
of  his  chosen  science  has  long  been  evident  in  the  success  of 
our  graduates  in  the  chemical  field,  his  absence  from  our  lab- 
oratories will  be  keenly  felt,  but  we  trust  we  may  still  have  the 
benefit  of  his  friendly  interest  and  counsel  and  that  further 
rest  may  restore  him  to  all  his  old-time  vigor. 

A Forward-  Instructors  and  officers  may  come 

and  go,  but  the  college  goes  on,  re- 
newing its  youth  and  restoring  its 
power  with  each  new  generation.  Despite  her  119  years 
Middlebury  was  never  more  youthful,  more  vigorous,  more 
fresh  with  new  life  and  hope  than  she  is  today.  We  are  a 
forward-looking  college  and  our  eyes  are  directed  today  to 
the  years  ahead,  with  their  tremendous  problems,  their  most 
serious  responsibilities,  their  limitless  opportunities.  If  I 


Looking  College 


[14] 


have  seemed  to  you  this  morning  to  be  talking  of  trivialities 
on  a significant  occasion,  it  is  not  because  I do  not  appreciate 
the  seriousness  of  the  business  of  training  leaders  for  the  dif- 
ficult and  dangerous  days  ahead.  I have  spoken  of  some 
small  and  petty  college  sins  just  because  such  trifles  may 
stand  in  the  way  of  our  success  in  building  manhood  of  the 
character  and  power  which  the  present  world  demands.  Of 
what  use  to  discant  on  the  severe  tests  to  which  the  men  of 
the  future  will  be  exposed,  the  great  problems  which  await 
solution,  if  you  are  going  to  haze  Freshmen,  under  the  cover 
of  Fraternity  practices  or  any  other  cover,  so  that  three- 
fourths  of  them  cannot  get  a decent  start ! How  impractical 
for  me  to  discourse  on  the  reasons  for  serious  study  in  these 
days  unless  your  student  organizations  can  take  up  the  matter 
of  life  in  our  college  halls  to  the  end  that  they  be  really  halls 
of  study!  If  I have  spoken  of  small  matters,  it  is  because  of 
my  belief,  based  on  experience  and  observation,  that  it  is  not 
the  lack  of  honest  purpose  which  thwarts  the  success  of  so 
many,  but  foolish  and  trifling  evils  of  practice  which  we  have 
allowed  ourselves  to  retain  from  the  past  or  to  copy  from  other 
institutions.  I ask  a thorough  revision  of  college  customs 
and  practices,  under  the  leadership  of  your  own  student  or- 
ganizations, for  the  sake  of  the  difficult  trials  of  manhood 
which  await  you,  more  difficult  than  men  before  have  ever 
known.  The  world  today  needs  bigger  and  abler  men, 
stronger  and  more  capable  women.  In  public  life  in  thous- 
ands of  positions  men  are  crowded  into  places  too  big  for 
them.  The  root  of  the  petty  politics  from  which  this  nation 
is  suffering,  and  through  this  nation  the  whole  world,  is  petty 
men.  Every  profession  and  every  business  is  looking  for 
abler  men.  Every  city  and  every  town  is  looking  for  them. 
The  strain  of  life  has  become  too  great  for  the  men  that  are 
available  to  bear  it.  Minds  are  not  big  enough  for  the  work 


[15] 


that  must  be  done.  “You  can’t  saw  wood  with  a hammer” 
is  the  fine  motto  of  one  of  the  regiments  of  the  old  regular 
army.  You  can’t  build  and  sustain  the  new  America  and 
the  new  world  with  2x4  stuff,  and  we  want  to  fix  the  ma- 
chinery of  our  college  so  that  it  will  turn  out  material  of 
larger  dimension. 

To  The  Class  of  ’23  Members  incoming  Class:  You 

will  be  designated  hereafter  by  the 

numerals  of  the  calendar  year  four  years  hence,  1923.  Let 
me  urge  you  to  fix  your  minds  on  that  day  in  June  of  1923 
when  you  will  receive  the  diploma  certifying  to  the  success 
of  the  work  you  now  begin.  Plan  your  course  on  the  basis  of 
a four  year  program.  Get  the  fundamentals  at  the  start  so 
that  the  later  years  may  be  full  of  enjoyment  and  reward. 
Avoid  all  accumulation  of  handicaps  by  way  of  early  failures 
and  careless  habits  of  work  which  it  will  be  difficult  to  over- 
come. Success  will  come  easily,  if  you  make  the  right  start. 

If  we  do  not  altogether  succeed  in  purging  our  customs  in 
one  year  from  all  practices  that  are  harmful,  instead  of  re- 
solving to  duplicate  them  when  your  turn  comes,  purpose 
rather  to  help  change  them  when  you  reach  a stage  of  greater 
influence.  Help  us  to  build  a better  college,  of  higher  stand- 
ard and  fairer  name.  We  love  Middlebury:  we  want  you  to 
love  her  too.  From  this  day,  because  you  will  be  part  of 
Middlebury,  all  the  honor  and  richness  of  her  past  belong  to 
you.  It  is  a noble  inheritance:  see  that  you  are  worthy  of  it. 

I now  declare  you  duly  matriculated  students  of  Middle- 
bury College  and  members  of  the  class  of  1923. 


[16] 


